


Midnight  Snack

by poemsforheroes



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-23
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-07-26 07:43:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7565845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poemsforheroes/pseuds/poemsforheroes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was the middle of the night when Stark woke him up, Steve thought the emergency was about a possible attack, he wasn't really the one the engineer would ask the opinion about his work.<br/>He went downstairs to the lab, to find Stark, fidgeting over his desk.<br/>- God damn, finally... I just thought you may want to know your protegee felt like going for a walk, I don't know, maybe you have a curfew or something.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Midnight  Snack

\- Wait, she's at a dinner, maybe she just need some time by herself. You know, some people enjoy midnight snacks.

Sam tried to reason Steve. He's always thinking the worst is happening when something gets mildly unusual. 

\- But maybe she needs someone, you were the one saying that it was important for her not to feel alone, so she can trusts us, see that we're there...

\- Yes, but that doesn't mean suffocating her. She needs to be able to do things on her own when she feels able to, to not be repressed.

\- What if she's waiting for someone to go get her ?

\- Steve, come on, calm down, we know where she is and we know there's no immediate danger.  
Let her come back by herself.

Steve was still pacing the common room. He trusted Sam, but after Sokovia and taking Wanda with them at Stark Tower, he had been really preoccupied with the girl. Obviously, having to deal with her brother's death, he couldn't expect her to be all smiles and warmth, and it's not like they knew each other for long, but he was just tired of feeling so helpless. He felt as if as a leader, he had to do something, to reassure her. Of course he would never try to take Pietro's place in any way, never such a thought even crossed his mind, but he couldn't just go about his day, knowing she was there, in her room, laying in the dark, god knows what kind of past memories were going through her mind. He just thought that he knew too well how it felt to lose a brother...

God. Punching through bots was way easier than this.

\- Steve. We're all concerned there, but Tony already checked the security cameras of the restaurant, we know she's there, and for now, she's safe.

Clint was sitting next to Natasha on the sofa, elbows resting on his knees. He looked impassive, as usual. But Steve knew how he felt about Pietro's death, there are some feelings you can't restrain when you're the one who survived and someone else died for it. 

\- Even if she decides to leave, you know we can't stop her. We don't have the right.

It was the first thing Natasha said in the thirty minutes since the four gathered here. Tony stayed in his lab, because he had had enough of « Steve's parental paranoia », as he put it, but everyone knew he was probably still checking those security streams.  
It made him stop in the middle of the room, he briefly looked at Natasha before looking down at his feet. 

She was right. It felt natural to take Wanda in, and she agreed, but if she happens to change her mind, they would have to let her go. If in the end, she didn't need them, if they couldn't help her…

With a sigh, he went to sit on the other side of the sofa. He moved the soft pillow from behind his back to let his arms rest on it, into his lap. 

\- You're right, I know. I just panicked, I guess. She didn't go out too much the past few days…

It was 1am, and he didn't really wake anyone up, but given their occupations, every member of the team knew that every hour of sleep was precious. Except Tony who lived on cafeine and 20 minute naps, and maybe Natasha, but Steve wouldn't dare to say he knew her so well as to guess her sleep pattern.  
They stayed like that for a while, their gazes focused on nothing.

Eventually, Natasha rose.

\- Go to bed, I'll go get her.

She briefly clutched his shoulder before exiting the room. Steve wanted to thank her but she was already out. It could wait tomorrow.

\- Come on, Momma Bear, your cub will be here in the morning.

Sam extended a hand to help him off the couch and passed his arm accross his shoulders while they both went back to their rooms, greeting Clint a good night on the way. 

 

\- - - - - - - - - - - 

Natasha stopped in front of the diner's window and spotted her right away. 

Wanda was sitting in the far end from the entrance, back against the faux red leather covering the padded seats. There was an old couple eating waffles two boxes from her, and the maid was behind the bar, drying glasses. Her bangs, half an inch too long to be comfortable, was getting in the way of her bloodshot eyes. She greeted Natasha with a small smile and a head tilt as she entered.  
Young. Probably a student who can only work night shifts. 

She moved down the aisle between the tables against the bay window and the counter. A slight tension had spread across her shoulders since she left the tower. She had given herself the luxury of letting her body betray her mental agitation during the short walk from the Avengers tower and the small diner, five blocks away, even though from an ordinary observer, she just looked mildly bothered. But now, she ignored the weight in her legs as she approched Wanda. No one would be able to pick up on those treacherous signs, really, not here, but the girl could. She was extremely good at reading people, not as good as a highly trained superspy, but better than Steve, at least. Natasha knew in which conditions the sokovian girl had to develop this skill for her own survival. Their survival. She repressed herself before the images could rush back to her mind. 

Wanda looked calm. As if she wasn't aware of anything going on around her at the moment. She was eating a burger, a rest of fries scattered in the plate. A glass of soda was half empty next to her right elbow, propped on the table as she kept the food at mouth level, lazily taking bites, taking all her time to chew, swallow, take another.  
When she got three feet from her, Natasha felt a slight spark of electricity, as if there was an invisible force field around the girl. Considering Wanda and her abilities, she couldn't be sure that it was just a feeling.  
She was staring into space with a blank expression. Natasha couldn't guess what got into her to make her come down there, but she knew better than to ask. She simply slid in the free seat at the other side of the table, resting her crossed arms on it. 

Wanda suddenly raised her eyes on her, mildly surprised. Of course, she expected one of them would come to bring her back, she thought it would have been Steve though, he was the one putting the most efforts in taking her out of the bedroom. He'd ask her what she wanted to eat, if she would join them to watch a movie tonight, or just to bring her coffee and snacks. He would talk about what the other members were up to during the day, who's away on a mission, who's coming back, small talk really. Sometimes she would answer, sometimes she would just watch him talking by himself. Then after a last glance, he would go, and she would see how his shoulders slump and the way his head bows right before the door closes behind him.  
But seeing Natasha here wasn't so surprising. 

\- Ready to come back ?

She didn't say home. Wanda knew it wasn't her home. She hadn't had any home since the bombing during their childhood. Their… She let her gaze absentmindedly drift towards the glass window. The rain was making the lights appear blurry, and the street sounds were almost muffled by it, even more from the inside. It came to her ears like white noise. She indulged in this atmosphere for one more second, thought about Pietro a bit longer. She had already made her decision. 

She stared back in Natasha's eyes, as she never dared before, then let her face cracks into a small smile. 

Natasha knew it was the most sincere one she ever witnessed from Wanda. She internaly treasured this as a gift, because she knew it was precious. It meant Wanda would stay, but more importantly, she would fight back, and she learned to appreciate the girl in a profound way, in a way she didn't let her get touched by young girls before. Because she remembers, what she usually tries not to think about. Her own self, many years before where she is now.  
But Wanda is strong and she's not alone, she'll survive.  
She shook her head and smiled back.

\- You're still wearing my jacket.

 

\- - - - - - - - - - 

**Author's Note:**

> This scene takes place right after AOU, also, I didn't watch Civil War yet, so I don't know how those characters evolved in the MCU, that's just my take on a small part of their private life. I hope to extend this piece of work by writing other little scenes exploring how they, as a group, deal with the loss, although Wanda is the character that interests me the most for now. 
> 
> Sorry for any mistakes or weird phrasing you could find, english is not my first language, and I don't have a beta reader.
> 
> (also, sorry for this terrible summary, I just wanted to post this soon so I could stop thinking about it and maybe work on something else now... but next time, i'll think more thoroughly about it)


End file.
